Living With My Cancer

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It’s been a long time since I updated my blog. Since I last wrote, I was diagnosed with a disease that could be considered “deadly” and “scary” … CANCER.

Since I was diagnosed, I disappeared from social media. There were questions from my closest friends like:

“Where have you been?”
“Changed majors, huh?”
“How come there is no news?”

The worst was when my friend said, “Don’t skip class again!”

It was so sad the way my friends noticed “DON’T SKIP” to me whereas I was struggling with my fate between life and death, but instead, they thought I was being truant. I guess that’s the consequence of not being honest with them from the beginning.

In 2017 I was diagnosed with stage 4b lymphoma. It’s been three years, but until now I haven’t been able to openly share on social media that I have cancer. I don’t know if my friends are aware of this or not. What type of lymphoma? Non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin Lymphoma.

I’ve been through so much since my diagnosis:

•Two diagnoses, of Non Hodgkin and Hodgkin Lymphoma
•Dozens of therapies with “extraordinary” effects
•Big and small surgeries
•3 months being paralyzed
•For half a year I couldn’t live without oxygen because my heart and lungs were soaking up liquid
•Pericardial Window Surgery (surgically draining fluid in the heart)
•Tremendous pain every day, and needing pain relief drugs
•Not being able to sleep, several months I slept sitting up because I couldn’t breathe well

Now I’m continuing on my 22nd round of infusion treatment (excluding radiotherapy). I hope “complete remission” will come and change my life for the better because I really miss everything so much. Just remember that having cancer is not the ending of everything but the beginning of a change in our lives.

By Adinda Fitriana Milasari

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